Woodford sets school record, wins Section IV title in 400-meter dash

BINGHAMTON – Oxford sophomore Katie Woodford ran the best time of her life in the 400-meter dash – again.

Woodford broke her own school and Midstate Athletic Conference record, and cruised to a first-place finish at the Section IV state qualifier Thursday at Binghamton Alumni Stadium

Woodford was pushed the first half of the race and took the final turn before the home stretch with a slight lead over Waverly’s Erika Kisel. She exploded over the final 100 meters to time 57.08 seconds, a full second ahead of Kisel, and nearly three-quarters of a second better than her previous-best mark of 57.75 set at last weekend’s Class C sectional meet. “I was really nervous, but I knew I would be really disappointed if I didn’t win,” Woodford said. “I just had to push myself.”

Woodford will represent Section IV at the state championships in Division II (small schools) for the second straight season. She hasn’t found herself trailing in a race against sectional competition in at least a year, and she lowered her best time over last season by nearly one and three-quarters seconds. “One of my goals this year was to beat my PR (personal record) from last year, and I’m doing better with that now, so I’m happy,” she said.